Tales from the Crypt
by KatsuragiYako
Summary: A series of unrelated drabbles written for the Skulduggery Pleasant series. In which a skeleton detective and his teenage assistant fight to save the world. May contain spoilers and a little Valduggery here and there. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I'd never thought that anything this bad could happen. We'd always made it through before but now…A lot of people had died. How were we going to bounce back from this..? Kenspeckle Grouse was dead now. His assistant, Clarabelle, missing. Tanith was gone too. I felt especially terrible when I thought about what happened to her. I felt sorry for Ghastly. After all that time, he'd finally gotten around to asking her out on a date and then that had to go and happen. Why Sanguine, of all people? That was so wrong.. I didn't know if Ghastly knew, and I certainly didn't want to be the one to tell him. The Remnants ruined everything.. They killed people…I killed people. For three whole painstaking minutes, I became Darquesse. I shuddered just thinking about it.

The people who had been possessed were lucky. They didn't remember anything. But me? I remembered everything. I didn't join with the Remnant, it just unlocked something. A part of me that hated everything, that wanted to kill everything and turn it all to rubble, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. Skulduggery had said that I would only become Darquesse if I let all those negative emotions take over me, ceased loving the people I cared about. He said he'd be right there by my side to help me through everything. I knew Ghastly and Fletcher would be there too. Maybe even China would help too. But Tanith…Or rather the Remnant inside of her would be hiding in the shadows, trying to lead me to becoming Darquesse.

I don't want to be Darquesse. I want to be Valkyrie Cain. I hate thinking that I might become her, even though I thought if I sealed my name, that would end it. But no. It hadn't changed anything. There was still a chance that I would destroy the world. But there was also a chance that it could be changed. Maybe I wouldn't become Darquesse. I like being myself too much. I don't want to turn into some…crazed killer that doesn't discriminate between her victims. The scary thing is, deep down, I think I enjoyed killing those people. That scares me most of all. I know that if I do become that monster, that I would hurt my friends. I'd probably kill Fletcher..And Skulduggery too..And then there would be no one to stop me from destroying the world.

It tore me apart to think that I would kill my friends, my family even. I didn't want to see them die. More importantly, I didn't want to be the one to kill them. But as long as I have people like Skulduggery behind me, I don't think I have to worry. That won't stop me from worrying and it won't keep the nightmares away. But the important thing is, I have friends. I have friends who had brought me back from that nightmarish mindset. But the question was, could they do it again? But another thought hit me, what if they're the cause? I don't want to think about it. I can't even begin to imagine what they might do to bring about Darquesse.

Things are back to normal now. Well, as normal as they've ever been lately. We're back to normal cases. Skulduggery seems glad that he has two friends on the council now. Maybe now it will be easier for him to do things. Though, the fact that he is Prime Detective again is even better. But we'll just have to sit it out and see what happens. Though, we've never really been the type to sit around.

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><p>This was something I just felt like I needed to write after I finished Mortal Coil. It made me sad, but I can't wait to see what book 6, Death Bringer, brings to the table. But anyway, hope you liked it. c:<p> 


	2. Until the End

She breathed in. For a long minute, everything hurt. She was pretty sure she hit her head, or something had, at least. A grimace worked its way onto her face. _Probably ought to get up,_ she thought to herself. But then again, it hurt to move. Maybe laying there a little longer couldn't hurt? Ugh, what did she even do, anyway? She would never hear the end of it, probably. She was pretty certain she'd slipped chasing after something—or someone.

The crunch of footsteps reached her ears and, despite everything, she tensed. Friend? Or foe? Though lately, the two terms were probably interchangeable. She stilled her breathing, hardly daring to move—not that she wanted to do anything of the sort right then.

"Well then, are you just going to lie there while I do all the work?" A velvety voice reached her ears and she felt her lips twitch, like she was going to smile.

"No, I'm laying here and looking pretty." She responded easily, even if her voice did sound just a little slurred.

"Oh yes, waiting on your Prince Charming, I'm sure."

Valkyrie groaned and shifted, turning to meet the bleached white bone of her companion. "You and I both know how that works out." She grunted before sticking her hand out, wincing at the action. "Help me up." He complied wordlessly, though immediately steadied her when she stumbled.

"...Did you eat the poisoned apple after all?" He quipped. "You're not looking that well. Well, paler than usual, I suppose."

"Not paler than you."

"Touche."

Still, he seemed to be waiting for some sort of explanation. Val frowned, furrowing her brows as the world around her seemed to spin. "I hit my head. I think." She finally stated. "My foot slipped on the way down." She turned to look back up at the steep hill, but the movement only made her dizziness worse.

"Right. It's a wonder we haven't put you in a bubble yet." He paused, tilting his head. "I should speak to someone about that, actually." Valkyrie grunted and moved to swat at his arm, but he simply slipped to the side to avoid it and wrapped an arm around her for support. The dark haired young woman furrowed her eyebrows, but every step made her wince. "Oh, stop that. It isn't that bad." Skulduggery probably would have rolled his eyes at her if he could have. Nonetheless, he still stopped to pick her up.

Valkyrie made a noise somewhere between a grunt of irritation and a yelp of surprise. "What are you doing? I can walk fine."

"Because wincing with every step is fine." He spared a glance down at her. "You've probably gotten a concussion with a fall like that." His voice was notably softer, concerned. Valkyrie was silent, pressing her lips together in a thin line. She couldn't really argue with that...not that she wasn't going to try.

"I've had worse."

It didn't help the situation any. Skulduggery had tensed up again.

"I know." His voice was rimmed with guilt, and Val almost wished she could take it back. But that wouldn't have done any good. It didn't change anything. They'd both been through worse. Some of it had probably been their fault. Okay, most of it was probably her fault. But was he really blaming himself for everything she'd had to go through? It had been her choice to set foot in this world. Even if she'd had to bully him into letting her tag along with him that first time. She wouldn't change it for anything though. This was her life now. This was how she liked it.

She let out a sigh, closing her eyes. "Don't even think about it. We're a team." She grunted, not unkindly. "We go through things together. Until the end."

He cocked his head at her. She found herself wondering if he might have been smiling in that moment, if he'd had a face. She liked to imagine he would be. The detective tightened his hold on his assistant as they approached the Bentley. Skulduggery liked to think he was smiling in that moment too. They'd been through a lot together. They had more in common than they'd ever thought. He'd never admit it, but he did worry. He knew she did too. He'd been there before. But he hadn't had someone at his side who knew what he was going through. He'd make sure she knew she wasn't alone.

When he spoke next, it was so soft Valkyrie almost thought she'd imagined it as he gently placed her in the passenger seat.

"Until the end."

In spite of everything, she smiled.


End file.
